


Make or Break (This Hint of Love)

by orphan_account



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexuality, Developing Relationship, First Dates, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-19 01:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2369234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ross is asexual. Dan isn't great at taking hints.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make or Break (This Hint of Love)

Danny didn’t _plan_ to kiss Ross the first time he did it. He didn’t even expect it. It just kind of _happened_.

Looking back, he realizes that he should probably have seen it coming. He’d been into Ross from pretty much the moment he met him; a stupid little crush, he figured, until it _wasn’t_ anymore. And then their Steam Train sessions started pushing longer and longer into the early hours of the morning, and... well, Dan had never had much self-control after midnight anyway.

And so, when they turn off the audio at three in the morning and dissolve into sleep-deprived giggles, Dan’s brain bypasses _‘I want to’_ and _‘Should I?’_ and plows straight on through  ‘ _Fuck it’_.

It’s a little clumsy, trying to turn Ross’ face toward him and kissing him right in the middle of his “Dan, what are you –”, but Ross’ response is instant. He all but yanks at the collar of Dan’s flannel shirt, pulling him in as close as possible. He’s a very enthusiastic kisser, open-mouthed and unabashed, and maybe Dan likes that a little more than he should. When Ross finally pulls away, Danny feels a little out of breath.

“ _Danny_ ,” Ross says, a huge grin spreading across his face. Dan can’t help laughing, feeling a little like he’s floating.

“So,” he says. “It’s possible that I might be, like, _massively_ into you.”

“You’re totally gay for me,” Ross agrees, fist-pumping the air.

“Shut up,” Danny says, shoving Ross’ shoulder lightly. He’s pretty sure he’s got a huge goofy smile on his face, but he doesn’t care.

“Make me,” Ross counters, smirking.

“Been waiting forever for you to say that,” Dan says, and he kisses him again.

They end up lying on the couch, legs tangled together, kissing slow and soft. It feels unreal; Danny’s almost convinced that he fell asleep in the middle of recording and dreamed all this. But Ross’ hand on his waist is warm and solid and real, fingertips splayed just beneath the hem of Dan’s shirt, and his mouth is so good that it _has_ to be real, or else Dan might die when he wakes up.

He’s vaguely aware that they stop kissing at some point, and he falls asleep with Ross’ face pressed into the curve of his neck.

-

They don’t talk about it in the morning, because Arin and Suzy are there, but every time they make eye contact, Ross smiles and looks away. Dan grins down into his coffee mug, and it’s nice.

If Arin and Suzy notice, they don’t mention it.

-

They go out to eat that night.

“Is this a date?” Ross teases when Dan asks him.

Dan laughs. “We’re going to Del Taco, dude.”

They still haven’t brought up last night, but Ross rubs his foot against Dan’s ankle under the table as they eat. They talk, a lot, and Dan kind of feels like he might explode into a gooey mess of happiness.

When he drops Ross off at his apartment, Ross leans across the seats to kiss him. Dan melts into it, raising one hand to cup Ross’ face, and then Ross is scrambling over the parking brake and into Dan’s lap. There’s not nearly enough room for both of them in the driver’s seat, and they both jump when Ross accidentally elbows the horn button, but finally they’re squished together and laughing and Ross leans down to kiss him again. Dan catches Ross’ bottom lip between his teeth and bites a little, and Ross hums happily against his lips. Dan loses himself in Ross’ mouth, hands tangling in his hair and dragging him in deeper. Ross presses closer, grinning into the kiss.

It’s hot in the car, and Ross’ body is pressed right up against Dan’s. Dan can feel every movement against him, and it’s fucking awesome. It might be even more awesome with less clothes, he decides. He reaches for the zipper of Ross’ jeans, but Ross pushes his hand away without breaking the kiss.

Danny feels a pang of hurt at the rejection, but he shakes it off as quickly as he can. So Ross wants to take it slow. That’s cool. A change of pace for Danny, maybe, but he can be a gentleman if he wants to. And he really, _really_ wants to. The last thing he ever wants to do is ruin this thing with Ross, because Jesus, he’s fallen for him harder than he thought was possible (for him, at least), and just getting to kiss him kind of makes Danny feel like the luckiest guy on Earth.

So he keeps his hands strictly above the waist until Ross finally pulls away and murmurs, “See you tomorrow.” Before Dan’s entirely sure of what’s happening, Ross is out of the car and heading inside.

Dan drops his head back against the seat and smiles to himself, because Ross is amazing.

-

It goes on like that for a while. Their friendship continues like it always has, apart from the making out, which has become a pretty normal thing by now. And Danny loves it, he really does.

But it scares him a little, too.

Danny’s had friends with benefits before, but this thing with Ross doesn’t feel like that. And more importantly, Danny doesn’t want it to be.

He can barely remember the last time he had a real relationship. He’s dated a lot of girls here and there over the past few years, but he hasn’t had a girlfriend in a long time, and a boyfriend in much, much longer. He’s not even sure he remembers how relationships happen.

Then again, all the making out is a pretty good start, he figures. And Ross is one of his best friends. Maybe it’ll be easy.

-

He waits until they’re done recording one night, then clears his throat before Ross can lean in to kiss him.

“So,” he says. “I was thinking.”

Ross grins. “That’s never a good sign.”

“Shut up.” Dan head-butts Ross’ shoulder gently. “I was thinking that maybe – y’know, if you want to – we could go on a date.”

Ross smirks, raising an eyebrow. “I expected something a little more smooth from the great Danny Sexbang. Where’s all that charm you use on the ladies?”

“Have you ever actually _seen_ a Ninja Sex Party video?” Danny laughs. “But, uh. Seriously. Let me take you out to dinner or some shit? Make this whole thing official?” His heart’s in his throat all of a sudden; he’s been trying not to think of what would happen if Ross said no, but now every possible scenario is swirling in his brain, from an awkward silence right up to irreparable friendship damage.

But Ross just bumps his shoulder against Dan’s, smiling. “Hey, dude, come on. Of course I want to.”

And suddenly Dan can breathe again. “Cool,” he says.

-

He goes all out.

 _Dress nice. I’ll be there at 8_ , says the text he sends Ross on Saturday afternoon.

He digs out the one nice pair of black dress pants he has, puts on a white button-up shirt, and even tries taming his hair. He can’t help but feel like sort of an idiot as he looks at himself in the mirror, but he thinks Ross might like it.

When he pulls up to Ross’ place at 8:15 – _fuck, he’s already late_ – his heart is pounding a little harder than usual. Things with Ross have been cool since they started this whole thing, but now that they’re _dating_ he feels a lot more self-conscious.

And then Ross is climbing into the car, and _fuck_ , he looks beautiful. So beautiful that Dan doesn’t even mentally cringe at how _gay_ that sounds, because shit, it’s the truth. And seriously, how did Ross manage to find a shirt the exact color of his eyes?

Ross grins, and Dan realizes he’s been staring.

“I guess I look good?” Ross ventures, and Dan laughs, dramatically snapping out of his trance.

“Maybe a little.”

“You too, asshole.” Ross leans back in his seat and smiles at him, and Dan breathes out a sigh of relief.

It’s still easy. Dan kind of wonders if Ross was meant for him or something.

-

Ross’ eyes go wide when he sees the restaurant that Dan parks in front of. Dan can’t help feeling a little proud of himself. Maybe he can’t exactly _afford_ this place, but hey, that’s what credit cards are for, right?

“Whoa,” Ross says quietly, and he looks over at Dan. “Really?”

Dan blushes a little. “I, uh. Wanted to make a good first date impression?”

“You’re fucking ridiculous,” Ross says fondly, shoving the car door open. “C’mon.”

Dan smiles to himself as he shuts the car off and follows Ross into the restaurant.

Dan somehow manages to get the table he’d reserved earlier, despite being fifteen minutes late. The restaurant’s lighting is dim, and their table is in a corner; Dan feels like they’re tucked away in their own little world or something. Ross smiles at him over the candles in the center of the table, and Dan feels a little breathless for a second.

They talk all the way through dinner, barely stopping to take bites of the food – and _jesus_ , it’s _delicious,_ so that’s saying a lot. By the time they’re done eating, almost two hours have passed.

Ross slips his hand into Dan’s back pocket while he pays (“Ross, shut up, I’m taking you on a date, we’re not splitting the bill,”) and Dan’s starting to realize how long it’s been since he’s gotten laid, when just that contact is enough to make the base of his spine tingle.

Finally, they’re back in the car, and Dan looks over at Ross. “...So?” he ventures.

Ross rolls his eyes, grinning affectionately. “Dude, that was probably the best first date I’ve ever been on. Relax.”

Dan can’t help feeling a little relieved. “So... do you wanna come over?”

Ross grins. “If by that you mean ‘do you wanna come over and make out on my couch,’ then _yeah_ I do.”

-

When they get back to Dan’s apartment, Dan shuts the door behind him and turns around, grinning at Ross.

“So, uh. Hey.”

Ross raises an eyebrow at him. “Don’t tell me you forgot how to kiss.”

Dan blushes. “I just... I don’t know. This is a date. I want to make it... good.”

“Dan?”

“Yeah?”

Ross steps forward so they’re face-to-face, reaching up to wrap his arms around Dan’s neck. “This doesn’t have to be weird,” he says firmly. “We just went out on a date, sure. But that doesn’t mean we’re not friends anymore. So please, give me shit about my accent or make a joke about your balls and just _stick your tongue down my throat already_.”

Danny lets out his breath in a soft whoosh. Ross is right.

“It would me my pleasure,” he says, in an ear-splitting impression of an Australian accent, and Ross grins.

“Fuckin’ asshole,” he murmurs, and he pulls Dan in by the collar of his shirt.

-

 _Take it slow_ , Dan reminds himself.

But they’re tangled together and making out on the sofa, Dan lying half on top of Ross and trying desperately not to rut against his leg because _holy shit_ , Ross’ tongue can do some pretty amazing things.

“Ross,” Danny breathes when they come up for air, but Ross is ducking his head down to suck a red patch into Danny’s neck and only manages a contented hum against his skin. It feels good, and Danny feels like his brain might be melting.

“Ross, _God_ , wanna fuck you.”

The words slip out before Dan can stop them, and then Ross is pulling away, and all Dan can think is _oh god, I fucked up, I fucked up_.

Ross is trying to sit up, Danny realizes, and he scrambles off of him, trying to give him as much room as possible.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I know you want to take things slow, and that was... I should have let you make the first move. I’m sorry.”

But Ross is shaking his head. “It’s... it’s not about taking it slow.”

“What is it, then?” Dan asks. He shuffles a little closer, laying a hand on Ross’ knee and giving it a little squeeze.

Ross hesitates for a minute. “I just... don’t like that stuff,” he says finally. “At all.”

“What stuff?” Dan asks, confused.

“ _Sex_ ,” Ross says, maybe a little too loudly, and Danny’s speechless for a second.

“Wait, really?”

Ross shakes his head firmly.

“Just... not at all? Ever?”

Ross runs a hand through his hair, shifting awkwardly. “I should have told you sooner,” he says. “Before we got involved like this.” He looks up at Dan. “I’m sorry. If that’s a deal breaker for you... I get it.”

“Whoa,” Dan says hurriedly, because as much as he’s trying to process right now, he knows for certain that this is _not_ a deal breaker; he can hardly imagine _anything_ about Ross that would be.

He grabs both of Ross’ hands in his own, shaking his head. “I’m okay with no sex, if you don’t wanna do it,” he says. Ross doesn’t look entirely convinced.

“I don’t care,” Dan says, more firmly. He needs Ross to understand that he means it. “I’ll stock up on porn and fleshlights, man. Whatever it takes to make this work, okay?”

“Okay,” Ross says. Danny leans forward to nudge Ross’ shoulder with his own, and Ross finally cracks a smile. “Okay. Thanks, Dan.”

Dan kisses him, soft and slow. When he pulls away, something occurs to him.

“Ross?”

“Yeah?”

“Has any of the stuff we’ve done already been... you know... not fun for you?”

Ross shakes his head firmly. “No, God, no. I would’ve stopped you if I wasn’t into it. Promise.”

Dan sighs in relief. “Just so I know from now on... what do you like?”

Ross smiles. “Making out is pretty awesome.”

“Yeah?” Dan grins. “What else?”

Ross leans in, so close that their noses are almost touching. “Cuddling the _shit_ out of you.”

Danny smiles, eyes slipping shut, tilting his head to breathe out against Ross’ lips. “I’m pretty into both of those things,” he murmurs, and Ross leans in to close the gap.

Dan pulls him back down onto the couch, and they lose the next ten minutes to slow, lazy kisses.

-

They sleep in Dan’s bed that night, and he wakes up feeling more well-rested than he has in a long time.

It feels weirdly natural, the way they stumble out of bed together, debating over potential games for Steam Train as they make cereal and coffee, falling into a cuddled heap on the couch again before they’ve even showered. Somewhere along the way Ross found a pair of Dan’s sweatpants, and they’re too long for him, in the most adorable way Dan’s ever seen. He ends up laying on the couch with his legs hanging off one end and his head resting in Ross’ lap as they watch TV. Dan feels like maybe he could do this forever.

But after a while, he clears his throat.

“So... you really don’t like sex, huh?”

Ross looks down at him warily. “No,” he says, shaking his head. “You still okay with that?”

Dan’s been thinking about it all morning. He nods. “Yeah, I really am. It’s just... hard for me to imagine, I guess.”

Ross shrugs. “I guess it is for most people. I’ve only met a few other asexual people in my whole life.”

“Asexual.” Danny tries the word out, then nods. “My asexual boyfriend Ross.”

Ross is silent, and when Dan looks up at him, he’s grinning.

“What?” Dan says, alarmed.

Ross’ grin widens. “Did you just call me your boyfriend?”

Danny feels his face heating up as he pushes himself up into a sitting position. “Fuck! I didn’t mean... Shit, dude...”

“Dan?”

Dan groans. “Yeah?”

“It’s cool. If you want to be boyfriends... I’m okay with that. If it’s what you want.”

Dan hesitates. “Really? That’s not... too fast?”

Ross pulls him in and kisses him firmly. “Not too fast,” he confirms.

Dan breathes out a sigh of relief, slumping down onto Ross’ shoulder. “Cool.”

Ross ruffles his messy hair. “You’re cute, you know that?”

Dan shakes his head. “You’re cuter.”

“Well, I mean, I never said that wasn’t the case.

“Shut up.” Dan headbutts Ross’ shoulder, smiling.

They are _so_ going to make this work.


End file.
